HSE Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme notes decline in number of births to teenagers in 2009
The HSE Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme (formerly the Crisis Pregnancy Agency) today commented on the latest birth statistics released by the CSO, which show that the number of births to teenagers (women under 20) decreased from 2,426 in 2008 to 2,223 in 2009. Since the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency in 2001, the number of births to teenagers has declined from 3,087 to 2,223.
Year No. of births to teenagers (women under 20)
2001 3,087
2002 2,948
2003 2,828
2004 2,493
2005 2,406
2006 2,335
2007 2,464
2008 2,426
2009 2,223
Improving knowledge about relationships and sexuality among adolescents is an area of key strategic focus for the Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme and it has developed numerous information materials for teenagers, parents and schools. Since 2005, parents and organisations working with parents have requested over 75,000 DVDs and booklets to assist in talking to children about relationships and sex. The Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme has also collaborated with the Department of Education and Skills and colleagues in the HSE in recent years on a number of resources to assist in the delivery of relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in schools.
Speaking today, Director of the Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme, Caroline Spillane said: “These figures indicate that initiatives to increase young people’s knowledge about relationships and sexuality are having an impact in reducing teenage pregnancy. When we were first established, parents consistently told us how difficult they found it to bring up the subject of sex with their children and asked for help in talking about the issue. Parents are to be commended for making great efforts to give their children the information they need to make healthy decisions about relationships and sex.”
The b4udecide.ie campaign was launched by the Sexual Health & Crisis Pregnancy Programme in late 2009. It aims to delay early sex among adolescents and contains information on dealing with peer pressure, self-esteem, sex and relationships. Ms Spillane added: “In the past month alone, there have been 20,000 visits to the www.b4udecide.ie website, highlighting the fact that teenagers want the information needed to develop healthy attitudes to relationships. It’s important that State organisations, parents and schools work together to further reduce the instance of teenage pregnancy and ensure that teenagers are receiving accurate information from a trusted source.”
